Iíve been thinking about doing this for awhile, and Iíve finally decided to do it. Throughout the history of football, many great players have come and gone. There have been threads debating the best, and I have decided to look at each position and rank the top ten at each. You may agree, or you may not. What I want to achieve in doing this is spark up some good conversation/debates as well as just taking a look at some of the greats that have stepped onto the field of battle. I hope you read and enjoy as well as chime in. Enjoy.

10- Deron Cherry
A good player with a good all around game, Cherry had the ability to drop back and cover as well as come up and make plays near the line of scrimmage. A big hitter and a sure tackler, Cherry amassed 50 career interceptions and was a member of the 1980ís All-Decade Team.

9- Kenny Easley
1984 Defensive Player of the Year and 5 Pro-Bowls over his career, itís a shame it didnít last longer. Kidney issues lead to an early retirement, but there is no denying how good Easley was during his time in Seattle. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Easley was a huge hitter that picked off 32 passes in seven years from the SS position.

8- Yale Lary
One of the best punters of all time was also a heck of a safety as well. Playing in the great secondary that the Lions had in the 1950ís and 1960ís, Lary was elected to the 1950ís All-Decade Team as well as 9 Pro-Bowls. An amazing ball hawk, Lary was great at defending the deep pass and preventing the big plays.

7- Steve Atwater
If you want a safety that could deliver crushing hits to his opponents, look no further than Steve Atwater. Atwater played the run better than a vast majority of safeties and played near the line of scrimmage to utilize his hitting abilities. The 8 time Pro-Bowler was not only a bone crushing hitter, but was captain and leader of his talent Broncos of the 1990ís.

6- Brian Dawkins
By the end of his career, Dawkins will certainly be a part of the exclusive 20 sack/20 interception club and will be remembered as one of the biggest hitters of his day that had a very good all around skill set. Dawkins has great speed that allows him to put pressure on opposing signal callers and excel in coverage. A smart player, Dawkins is a good leader and one of the toughest guys on the field at any time.

5- Jack Tatum
A ferocious competitor, Tatum was one of the most feared player of his day. Known as a big hitter, and it was put on display in Super Bowl XI when he famously hit a Vikings WR so hard that his opponents helmet was thrown off. Dubbed with the moniker of ďAssassinĒ, Tatum will always be known as the driving force behind the Super Bowl winning Raiders.

4- Jack Christiansen
A smaller player, Christiansen was a great return man, a terrific leader and of course, a great safety. Selected to 6 All-Pro teams, Christiansen had a nose for the ball and was a real threat to intercept a pass on any ball near him. Christiansen had great speed and great range and was able to make plays all over the field.

3- Ken Houston
A complete package, Houston was a fluid athlete with good speed that made him very good against the pass as well as a powerful hitter that held up well against the run. Once he did pick off a pass, Houston was one of the best ever after the interception accumulating 898 yards for 9 touchdowns off 49 career interceptions.

2- Ronnie Lott
Often looked at as the greatest safety to ever play the game, I see Lott as an amazing defensive back that could play either safety or corner with great success, but not the best pure safety of all time. A hardnosed player, Lott was a tackling machine that was always around the ball, topping the 1,000 tackle mark for his career. Great instincts allowed Lott to make all the plays he did, both against the run and the pass.

1- Paul Krause
The epitome of a ball hawk, Krause was an amazing ďcenterfielderĒ from the safety position. Amazing range and ball skills, no player covered more ground than Krause and an NFL record 81 interceptions is a testament to that fact. A 9 time All-Pro, not only did Krause have great hands and coverage skills, but held up against the run and was never afraid to come up and make a tackle.
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There are many on that list who you could easily say are not as good as Rodney Harrison, i look at Brian Dawkins and i say it, i look at most of them and i say that.

Dawkins, as you said... is not yet on the 20/20 club, Harrison is on the 30/30 club, the only player to be on it, he started the club.

I mean as for Steve Atwater the broncos had a scheme for him to get all those tackles, he was close to the line all the time, like an extra linebacker, he didn't need to play as much coverage.

Rodney Harrison had one of the best overall season by any safety, twice in a row, in 2003/2004 he had led the league in the tackles mark for a safety two years in a row, the man can hit you so hard you would be afraid to get up... he would finish the play and more, which got him some problems. [fines]

You hear all the time about "setting the tune", setting it on defense... what does it mean? it means you get everybody's confidence up in order for them to play well, you make a play that makes everyone say: "Hi, look what he just did... we can play with this guys, we can whip them".

Harrison played on the edge on every play, its why he got so much fines...

A vocal leader is one thing, he re-created what vocal means, every damn play he would yall at the judge about something... right or wrong he would do it, just in order to get the better of the other team...

We all know the 20/20 club don't we? 20 sacks and 20 picks get you there, Rodney got his own club its called The 30/30 Club and he is the only member on it, 30.5 sacks and 33 Ints.

The guys who are better needs to be known as better, Harrison is better.

He became the first player in NFL history to score touchdowns on an interception return, fumble return and kickoff return in same season [in 1997].

Don't forget unlike Many people who didn't shine in big games [playoff games], Harrison did... Big time [even if some people also shined in the playoff, they didn't shine as much]:

1) Playoff 2003, first game vs the Titans and MVP Mcnair - Picked off a pass.

2) Playoff 2003, second game vs the colts and MVP Manning - Picked off a pass in the endzone.

3) Playoff 2004, first game vs the colts and MVP Manning - Picked off a pass in the endzone.

4) Playoff 2004, second game vs the 15-1 Steelers - Picked off a pass and took it over 80+ yards to the house.

5) Playoff 2004, third game vs the Eagles in the superbowl, maybe the best game for a DB in a Superbowl - Picking off two passes [one in the redzone and one to win the game] had a sack and was responsible for a FF. [and he did that despite missing almost an entire quarter]

*Its at least one pick every game in the 2004 playoff.

6) Playoff 2007, first game vs the Jags - Picked Off a pass in the end of the game.

Thats not the end of it, he held one of the best defenses of this millennium by himself in 2004, you know who started in superbowl 39 and every game since about week 2004, you know who started in superbowl 39 and every game since about week 7? undrafted rookie free agent Randall Gay [as a starter not a slot guy], on the other side second year fourth round pick Asante Samuel and for the slot guy, old vetren Wideout [i said wideout] Troy Brown.

As far as the other safety, he had second year man Eugene Wilson who was a covrted CB... FOR AN HALF, until he got hurt [which is nothing knew to him, he got hurt as a rookie on the superbowl the year before] and was replaced by another forth round pick rookie Dexter Reed... now out the NFL and possibly going to jail.

You might know this guys now, you sure know Samuel, but he wasn't the same Samuel you know today, he was almost nothing if you compare him today... if anyone of you know Gay today, he was really nothing back than, an undrafted rookie who didn't even start at LSU[!].

He held that team and that Defense for a season with so many incapable guys playing... it was amazing to watch, its a leader.

How many others do something to compare with this?

*Rodney Harrison got 15 FF to go along with 33 ints and 30.5 sacks.

Button Line

If its Tackles, INT's, Sacks, Impace on the game, TD's, Pass Defended [almost 20 more] Harrison beats most of them, and he did it in about 165 games. [he played 180 games but 15 of them he was just on SP as a rookie and didn't play defense]

He is one of the best ever, for sure.

Last edited by Billy Spikes on Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

There are many on that list who you could easily say are not as good as Rodney Harrison, i look at Brian Dawkins and i say it, i look at most of them and i say that.

Dawkins, as you said... is not yet on the 20/20 club, Harrison is on the 30/30 club, the only player to be on it, he started the club.

I mean as for Steve Atwater the broncos had a scheme for him to get all those tackles, he was close to the line all the time, like an extra linebacker, he didn't need to play as much coverage.

Rodney Harrison had one of the best overall season by any safety, twice in a row, in 2003/2004 he had led the league in the tackles mark for a safety two years in a row, the man can hit you so hard you would be afraid to get up... he would finish the play and more, which got him some problems. [fines]

You hear all the time about "setting the tune", setting it on defense... what does it mean? it means you get everybody's confidence up in order for them to play well, you make a play that makes everyone say: "Hi, look what he just did... we can play with this guys, we can whip them".

Harrison played on the edge on every play, its why he got so much fines...

A vocal leader is one thing, he re-created what vocal means, every damn play he would yall at the judge about something... right or wrong he would do it, just in order to get the better of the other team...

We all know the 20/20 club don't we? 20 sacks and 20 picks get you there, Rodney got his own club its called The 30/30 Club and he is the only member on it, 30.5 sacks and 33 Ints.

The guys who are better needs to be known as better, Harrison is better.

He became the first player in NFL history to score touchdowns on an interception return, fumble return and kickoff return in same season [in 1997].

Don't forget unlike Many people who didn't shine in big games [playoff games], Harrison did... Big time [even if some people also shined in the playoff, they didn't shine as much]:

1) Playoff 2003, first game vs the Titans and MVP Mcnair - Picked off a pass.

2) Playoff 2003, second game vs the colts and MVP Manning - Picked off a pass in the endzone.

3) Playoff 2004, first game vs the colts and MVP Manning - Picked off a pass in the endzone.

4) Playoff 2004, second game vs the 15-1 Steelers - Picked off a pass and took it over 80+ yards to the house.

5) Playoff 2004, third game vs the Eagles in the superbowl, maybe the best game for a DB in a Superbowl - Picking off two passes [one in the redzone and one to win the game] had a sack and was responsible for a FF. [and he did that despite missing almost an entire quarter]

*Its at least one pick every game in the 2004 playoff.

6) Playoff 2007, first game vs the Jags - Picked Off a pass in the end of the game.

Thats not the end of it, he held one of the best defenses of this millennium by himself in 2004, you know who started in superbowl 39 and every game since about week 2004, you know who started in superbowl 39 and every game since about week 7? undrafted rookie free agent Randall Gay [as a starter not a slot guy], on the other side second year fourth round pick Asante Samuel and for the slot guy, old vetren Wideout [i said wideout] Troy Brown.

As far as the other safety, he had second year man Eugene Wilson who was a covrted CB... FOR AN HALF, until he got hurt [which is nothing knew to him, he got hurt as a rookie on the superbowl the year before] and was replaced by another forth round pick rookie Dexter Reed... now out the NFL and possibly going to jail.

You might know this guys now, you sure know Samuel, but he wasn't the same Samuel you know today, he was almost nothing if you compare him today... if anyone of you know Gay today, he was really nothing back than, an undrafted rookie who didn't even start at LSU[!].

He held that team and that Defense for a season with so many incapable guys playing... it was amazing to watch, its a leader.

How many others do something to compare with this?

*Rodney Harrison got 15 FF to go along with 33 ints and 30.5 sacks.

Button Line

If its Tackles, INT's, Sacks, Impace on the game, TD's, Pass Defended [almost 20 more] Harrison beats most of them, and he did it in about 165 games. [he played 180 games but 15 of them he was just on SP as a rookie and didn't play defense]

He is one of the best ever, for sure.

True, but you still have to take into account that Harrison has played three more years than Dawkins, and Dawkins has over 40 more passes defended and 9 more forced fumbles..._________________

But as the founding member of the Black Panther Anti Patriot Religious Movement All Things Boston Hate Jihad , my bias forces me to leave him off of my list.

Agreed.

This isn't about Boston or Patriots , i just belive that Harrison should not only on the list, but around the top of it.

Also he is a Charger.

Most of those great seasons came when he was a Charger [you can't really say the best seasons but you might and it could be true]

The man was a Charger a lot longer than a Pat, he was on that Chargers superbowl team as a rookie! [that long]

So be honest and not biased, he earned it.

Quote:

True, but you still have to take into account that Harrison has played three more years than Dawkins, and Dawkins has over 40 more passes defended and 9 more forced fumbles...

But Dawkins started more NFL games than Harrison, about 166 for Dawkins and 165 for Harrison, so it would about equal.

It dosn't matter how many seasons you played, its about how many games, since you might go on IR as a rookie at the start of the year and the next season your a second-year guy not a rookie, its only officially counts as a season but you didn't play 16 games on it.